Joyce, First, let me say that I do have respect for most professional genealogists, but what you say is not all true. As was pointed out in an earlier post, many clients do not know how to search the Internet and don't subscribe to sites that you might. I am an amateur genealogist, yet I have been approached on several occasions by professionals wanting my research. In some cases, when they have a problem that may have taken them a lot of work, I'm happy to send what I have already done. In other cases, when they are sly and sneaky, but obviously want to use my research so that they will be paid for it, I don't share. I'm not talking about Internet research. I'm talking about sources from courthouses and films that aren't available on the Internet. Your clients could find much of it by finding the right researcher for the right family, but they aren't as adept as it as you are. I'd be happy to send you a document I've obtained if you told me what it was for ... just not everything I ever did or wrote -- unless I liked you a lot. This is what I have been asked to do. Your clients probably don't have the network that many of us create by meeting others and sharing. This sharing may come from personal emails, but it really did come from the Net. I have a zillion (well, maybe not that many) copies of original documents that I have obtained not ON the Internet, but from people I have met on the Internet. You don't always have to go to the courthouse to get the documents. I am a lot better at finding things than many of my fellow researchers -- worse than others, but I can find things on the Internet that many people can't. I think you can too. Hope I'm making sense. It's past my bedtime. Debbie As for 'professional' genealogists....I can tell you a little something. Anything I can find on the internet that helps my client, my clients can also find. A true professional seldom does in-depth research on the internet....what's available for you is available to me. We can find basic data but can seldom use it for documentation. 99% of my clients are via the internet and all of them have indications of ancestry in the area where I live and can get to the 'hidden' information that isn't on the internet. The most reliable info on the net is primary resource information....which there is not enough of. I'm not sure if other professionals will agree with me but that's how we work. Joyce Gaston Reece ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

Debbie <RoverLSmith@aol.com> wrote: > I am an amateur genealogist, yet I have been approached on several > occasions by professionals wanting my research. That's remarkable. I've been doing genealogy for 40 years, I've been to maybe a dozen national genalogy meetings, been a featured speaker at four of them and on panels a couple of others and I have been on line for 20 years. I know dozens of professional geneaalogists, many quite well, some have been guests in my home and I regularly exchange message with a few of them. You know what? Not once has any one of them ever asked me for information they needed for a client. I guess I'm not finding the right stuff. Richard

Richard -- I seem to suffer from the same problem. I can't even GIVE AWAY some of my ancestors to relatives, let alone have a professional ask for any information on them for a client. I did have a fellow ask me how much I would pay for information about his rather infamous ancestor. He was under the impression that he had the copyright on her. I was honest -- said she wasn't worth anything to me and I could find all the genealogical material I needed elsewhere. >You know what? Not once has any one of them ever asked me for information they needed for a client. I guess I'm not finding the right stuff. Richard < --Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG

Well, you'all know as well as I do that 95% of the time when you retrieve data from someone it isn't documented data. I can tell a reputable researcher from a mile away. If we're going to be required to retrace somebody else's data we may as well start from scratch and do the work ourselves....which is usually easier. We specialize in the region where we live because of the reason's I'd stated earlier. Unless someone specifically tells me to do the internet search because they just simply don't want to or know how to, I'm assuming they have already done the online search. Most of the time, when I do find a vital record online I'll send it to them with the reaction that they had already seen that. We'll also do the vital records needed and can be ordered online ONLY when the client specifically requests it. I made the mistake of telling someone I was looking for data for a client. I won't do that again. I told them just to send it directly to the client. We've done the same thing on the 5 web sites we manage...3 of which are on rootsweb. We've tried to put vital records out there....things that are usable. I've state before and I'll state again....we can copyright until He__ freezes over but if we don't have the means to legally back up said copyright, then what use is it. I realize that some of you here are very knowledgeable about copyright issues but most of us aren't. Joyce Gaston Reece ----- Original Message ----- From: "Myra Vanderpool Gormley" <myravg@wamail.net> To: <copyright@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, September 01, 2007 2:46 AM Subject: Re: [COPYRIGHT] professional > Richard -- > > I seem to suffer from the same problem. I can't even GIVE AWAY some of my > ancestors to relatives, let alone have a professional ask for any > information on them for a client. > > I did have a fellow ask me how much I would pay for information about his > rather infamous ancestor. He was under the impression that he had the > copyright on her. I was honest -- said she wasn't worth anything to me and > I > could find all the genealogical material I needed elsewhere. > >>You know what? Not once has any one of them ever asked me for information > they needed for a client. > > I guess I'm not finding the right stuff. > > Richard < > > --Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > COPYRIGHT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.484 / Virus Database: 269.13.1/981 - Release Date: 8/31/2007 > 6:13 AM > >